Part 24 (2/2)
”Why not?”
”Because he didn't look at me a bit when he pa.s.sed to-day. He looked at you, though.”
”Nonsense!”
”Yes, and his face had an _aw_fully hungry look. I know what makes him sad.”
”What?”
”He's in love with you.”
Mrs. Willoughby stared at Minnie for a moment. Then a short laugh burst from her.
”Child!” she exclaimed, ”you have no idea of any thing in the world but falling in love. You will find out some day that there are other feelings than that.”
”But, Kitty dear,” said Minnie, ”didn't you notice something very peculiar about him?”
”What?”
”I noticed it. I had a good look at him. I saw that he fixed his eyes on you with--oh! _such_ a queer look. And he was awfully sad too. He looked as if he would like to seize you and lift you on his horse and carry you off, just like young Lochinvar.”
”Me!” said Mrs. Willoughby, with a strange intonation.
”Yes, you--oh yes; really now.”
”Oh, you little goose, you always think of people rus.h.i.+ng after one and carrying one off.”
”Well, I'm sure I've had reason to. So many people have always been running after me, and s.n.a.t.c.hing me up as if I were a parcel, and carrying me every where in all sorts of places. And I think it's too bad, and I really wish they'd stop it. But, Kitty dear--”
”What?”
”About this Scone Dacres. Don't you really think there's something very peculiarly sad, and very delightfully interesting and pathetic, and all that sort of thing, in his poor dear old face?”
”I think Scone Dacres has suffered a great deal,” said Mrs.
Willoughby, in a thoughtful tone. ”But come now. Let us go to Ethel.
She's lonely.”
Soon after they joined the other ladies, and talked over the project of going to Rome. Lady Dalrymple offered no objection; indeed, so far as she had any choice, she preferred it. She was quite willing at all times to do whatever the rest proposed, and also was not without some curiosity as to the proceedings during holy-week. Ethel offered no objections either. She had fallen into a state of profound melancholy, from which nothing now could rouse her, and so she listened listlessly to the discussion about the subject. Mrs. Willoughby and Minnie had the most to say on this point, and offered the chief reasons for going; and thus it was finally decided to take their departure, and to start as soon as possible.
Meanwhile Girasole had his own thoughts and experiences. He had already, some time before, been conscious that his attentions were not wanted, but it was only on the part of the other ladies that he noticed any repugnance to himself. On Minnie's part he had not seen any. In spite of their graciousness and their desire not to hurt his feelings, they had not been able to avoid showing that, while they felt grateful for his heroism in the rescue of Minnie, they could not think of giving her to him. They had manoeuvred well enough to get rid of him, but Girasole had also manoeuvred on his part to find them again. He had fallen off from them at first when he saw that they were determined on effecting this; but after allowing a sufficient time to elapse, he had no difficulty in tracking them, and finding them at Naples, as we have seen.
But here he made one or two discoveries.
One was that Minnie already had an accepted lover in the person of Lord Hawbury. The lofty superciliousness of the British n.o.bleman seemed to Girasole to be the natural result of his position, and it seemed the att.i.tude of the successful lover toward the rejected suitor.
The other discovery was that Minnie herself was more pleased with the attentions of the English lord than with his own. This was now evident, and he could not help perceiving that his difficulties were far more formidable from the presence of such a rival.
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